2011 Runners

Support Your Runners & Community
Each year the BAA grants a select number of official running BIBs to the Towns located along the Boston Marathon race route. This year, Town of Ashland's Board of Selectmen are using these valued BIBs to raise $50,000 for Special Programs and Social Services.

Find below our participating runners with the goal of raising $2,500 each. Their funds raised will be used for Ashland's Special Programs and Social Services such as Food Pantry, Ashland Youth and Family Services, Community Outreach, Ashland Emergency Fund, Police/Fire Special Programs, and Community Enrichment Library Programs.

Help these gracious runners give something back! Help them make a difference in our community and help them keep these programs alive in these trying economic times. Every dollar you give means something.

Runner Results

Runner

Finishing Time

Dorcas Rushton

3:51:09

Mary Beth Prozinski

3:51:25

Tim Donovan

3:54:26

John Santiago

3:58:55

Kelley Joseph

3:59:18

Jeff Rushton

4:00:12

Sara Steele-Rogers

4:12:06

Jake Sullivan

4:12:44

Paul Wilkinson

4:25:21

Andrew Gillis

4:35:36

Jacquie Ham

4:41:23

Howard Wood

4:54:08

Jay Crochiere

4:56:47

Kiki Hopkins

5:07:04

Meg Thompson

5:21:02

Pat Mangiacotti-Prucher

5:25:05

Heather Jack

5:40:53

Hayley Marshall

5:44:10

Jennifer Mersino

5:46:18

Jay Crochiere
My name is Jay Crochiere, I am 45 years old and live in neighboring Hopkinton, MA with my wife Alice and our three children, Danielle, Karina, and Brett. I am Director of Sales for Daymark Solutions in Burlington, MA. I ran The Boston Marathon in 2006 when I turned 40 years old and had a great experience, I figured it was time to do it again!

I am really excited by the opportunity to raise money and run on behalf
of the Town of Ashland to support various community programs and
services. I am an avid coach in both business and in my personal life.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of coaching a variety of youth
sports including soccer, lacrosse, basketball, baseball and softball. I
am an avid skier but can honestly say that I am tired of the snow-banks
and icy roads that I have been running on for the past several months in
and around Hopkinton and Ashland…come on Spring!

Tim Donovan
My name is Tim Donovan and I live in Manchester, MA with my wife Kate and three children Hailey, Brett and Jake. It has been a very interesting winter for training, slippery roads, high snow banks and some crazy early morning snow plow drivers. This will be my first official Boston Marathon and feel very fortunate to help raise money for the Town of Ashland. Looking forward to race day!

Andrew Gillis
My name is Andrew Gillis, I am married with two children living on the north shore of Boston. This is my 8th consecutive Boston Marathon, and second year running for the town of Ashland. I believe that raising funds for the Town of Ashland fund and services is very important, and I look forward to helping this cause.

I have been a charitable runner for the past 7 years raising funds for Boston based charities ranging from the Commission for the Blind to Brigham and Women's Hospital. I would appreciate any level of donation that you can make, because all funds go to services that are needed in the Town of Ashland.

Jacquie Ham
My name is Jacquie Ham. I am 18 years old and I live in Sudbury, Massachusetts. I attend college at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, and I went to high school at The Rivers School in Weston, where I played both soccer and hockey for four years. Although I never ran long distance in high school, I was constantly engaged in athletics.

When I started at Bucknell, I was no longer playing any team sports.
Because of this, I started to run. I decided to do the Boston Marathon
so that something would always be motivating me to run. This will be my
first marathon and I feel fortunate to have been given opportunity to
help the Town of Ashland and local charities in need.

Kiki Hopkins
My name is Kiki Hopkins my husband Andy and I have lived in Ashland for the past 8 years. We have two daughters Rachael and Avary and two dogs Cam and Neely. I am a big sports fan and love watching the Red Sox and Patriots, but if you haven’t guessed from my dogs names I am a huge Bruins fan! This will be my first time stepping up to a full marathon after completing 4 half marathons.

Heather Jack
My name is Heather Jack and I moved to Ashland 10 years ago with my husband, Phil. We have two kids - Elizabeth (8) and Alex (5). I manage a nonprofit called The Volunteer Family and consult to many other area nonprofit organizations. I also volunteer as the chair of the Advisory Board of the Ashland Youth and Family Services, which manages the food pantry.

I ran the Boston Marathon back in 1996, but I seem to have forgotten how difficult it was because now I find myself signed up again! But I’m so thrilled to support our town and am thankful to all of the other runners and to the donations which will support our town’s services.

Kelley Joseph
I am running the 115th Boston Marathon in honor of my 45 year old twin sister, Kim Zona. She was diagnosed with breast cancer this past October; her strength and willingness to overcome this disease has motivated me to reach a personal goal of running the Boston Marathon for the second time. I have been in education for over 20 years; presently I am a full-time literacy specialist for the Nashoba Regional School District. I have been married for 22 years and have 3 teenagers, and my family and I reside in Bolton.

Pat Mangiacotti-Prucher
My name is Pat Mangiacotti-Prucher I live in Hopkinton with my husband Matt and our 3 children Garrett (10) and our twins Harrison (7) and Grace (7) and our chocolate lab Buddy who you may see running with me from time to time. I am a Business Development Specialist at Equifax. We are a very busy family spending time with our children in many different activities and organizations in the area.

As a survivor of 2 strokes and subsequent brain surgery to remove an
AVM, I feel very blessed to be running the Boston Marathon for the Town
of Ashland to support many community service programs. I am running for
all of those who wish they could and for those who are no longer with us
and can't. I may not be the fastest runner on April 18th but, I am so
fortunate to be in a position to run my second marathon. Thank you so
much for donating and please remember a company match if you have one!
See you on April 18th!

Hayley Marshall
My name is Hayley Marshall. I live in Holliston, MA with my husband and 3 children. I'm an OB/GYN at Milford Regional Medical Center. I've been running for a long time, but this will be my first marathon. I'm excited to raise money for the various programs for the Town of Ashland, while accomplishing a lifelong goal. Thanks to this marathon fundraiser last year, Rachel's challenge was brought to the school district.

As a mother of girls, I understand the importance of raising awareness
of bullying in the schools and I am eager to help make a difference in
Ashland this year. I'm looking forward to the marathon, but since this
is my first one, I really just hope to be able to walk when it's all
done!

Jennifer Mersino
I live in Fresno, CA with my husband, Peter. We have been married for 22 years, and we have 3 children - Jacob (21) is completing his 3rd year at the U.S. Air Force Academy; Scott (19) is attending Monterey Bay State; Andrea (18) is a senior in high school. I teach Special Education at Clovis West High School. This will be my husband's 4th Boston marathon.

He ran the last 2 years and has qualified again this year. I have run 4
marathons in the past, the last one being in 2003. I am excited to be in
training again and happy that I can raise money for the town of Ashland
in my pursuit of running in one of the most prestigious marathons.

Mary Beth Prozinski
My name is MB Prozinski and I have lived in Ashland for the past 16 years with my husband, Steve (aka Homer) and three boys, Bo, Micky and Donot. I ran the Boston Marathon 2 years ago and have run the Falmouth Road Race for the past 7 years raising monies for local Ashland residents in their fights against cancer and to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Our family is very active in the town, schools and sports, and by
running the Marathon and by your generous contributions I'm hoping to
give back just a bit of what the town has already offered to so many
families. Stay Happy and Healthy...and keep on running...or walking!
Thank you very much! By the way, love the Southie St. Paddy's Day
parade!

Dorcas Rushton
Hi, my name is Dorcas Rushton I have lived in Ashland, MA with my husband since 1996, when we relocated from Salt Lake City, Utah. We have a son Trenton, who attends Mindess School in Ashland. This April’s Boston Marathon will be my 21st marathon and my 11th Boston Marathon. I am very excited for the opportunity to run for our Ashland Charities.

Training for the Boston Marathon this year has been extremely fun
running on the snow lined streets. Each step is an adventure for those
of us who are too stubborn to take advantage of a treadmill!

Jeff Rushton
My name is Jeff Rushton, I am 45 years old and live in Melrose, MA. I have been married to my wife, and best friend, Patty for 17 years. We have two beautiful girls, Melissa and Jessica. I am the CFO at the best company on the planet, Daymark Solutions in Burlington, MA. I am a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Patriots. This will be my first marathon!

I have always wanted to run the Boston Marathon and am excited for the
opportunity to be able to run and to help raise funds to support the
Town of Ashland’s Special Programs and Social Services.

John Santiago
John was born and raised in NYC and currently lives in Miami Beach Florida with his wife Gisela and 7 year old son Xavier. John is the co-founder and Co-CEO of Media 8, a leading Digital Adverting agency which focuses on the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets. He is also in his 3rd year as a volunteer baseball coach for the city of North Miami Beach. John is an avid runner and triathlete, having completed several Marathon and half Ironman distances events.

Sara Steele-Rogers
Sara was born in Wilton, CT and moved to Boston eight years ago to pursue an undergraduate degree at Suffolk University. Even as a competitive gymnast for 17 years, Sara could never run a single mile. It wasn't until 2010 that Sara committed to running as a sport... and now, there's no turning back! The Boston Marathon will be Sara's second race (the BAA Half Marathon being her first). Her interests include social media, marketing, boloco burritos, and making the most of every day...and mile.

Jake Sullivan
I started out running from telephone pole to telephone pole. I would struggle to catch my breath in between them. The first time I ran a mile I collapsed in pain. Everyone has their story for sure. Everyone knows 26 miles is insane…and we all have our reasons for getting there. When I was 14 I entered a program at Children’s Hospital to lose weight. I was morbidly obese and showing signs of developing diabetes.

My family and friends were very supportive, but it was ultimately my
choice to dig myself out of that hole I had gotten into. I lost over 100
pounds over the next 5 years. It wasn’t always pretty, I wasn’t always
sticking to the plan, and in retrospect training for the marathon has
been a lot like that experience. I pursue an active and healthy
lifestyle now. Running this race is an extension of that. I am running
the marathon mainly because it is something I didn’t think I could ever
do.

I am also running to raise much needed funds for our local
firefighters. Hopefully we as a group can raise enough to make a
meaningful impact on this community. We might not have anyone helping us
out there on race day physically, but knowing we supported this town
will certainly help push us all along to the finish. That’s it for now,
please see my awesome co-worker, Sara-Steele Rogers’ bio as well…she has
been a great inspiration and training partner!

Meg Thomson
My name is Meg and I moved to Hopkinton from South Florida last year when I transferred within my company to Ashland. I have two chocolate labs, Jack and Jimmie, who love to run and keep me busy. My first marathon was in 2002 and I’ve been running ever since.

In 2010, I completed one marathon, a sprint triathlon and six half
marathons and this year am looking forward to Boston, the Timberman Half
Ironman in August and depending on the lottery system, the NYC marathon
in November with my college roommate! Raising money for charity has
always been a passion of mine and this fundraiser is no different.
Please donate to help fund important programs for teens, senior citizens
and the residents in Ashland that are in need.

Paul K. Wilkinson
I’m a 42 year old lifelong resident of Ashland. I’ve been married for 18 years to Alyse, my high school sweetheart. We have two beautiful and active children, Bailey (16) and Tyler (13). I work on the South Shore for Clean Harbors in the role of VP Strategic Initiatives. I’m active within the town as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board and a member of the Design Review Committee.

For many reasons, running Boston has been a lifelong dream of mine.
Please support me on this amazing and at times grueling journey.

Howard Wood
My name is Howard Wood. I live in Jacksonville Florida and I am a native Floridian. I have been married for 24 years to my wife Carol and I have a 23 year old daughter Megan who lives in Newton Ma. and is a graduate of Wellesley College. Megan will also be running the marathon this year as well. I began running about 3 years ago after losing over 140 pounds and it is one of my favorite things to do.

I am a big Florida Gator and Jacksonville Jaguar football fan and attend
many games with my wife every year. We are big sports fans and also
enjoy traveling to different places for hiking and doing outdoor types
of activities. This will be my first marathon and I feel privileged to
be able to help the Town of Ashland and support the needs of the local
charities.